PORTLAND, Ore. — Brett Pruett was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting deaths of three of his neighbors in July 2020, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office reported.
On Monday, Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Michael Greenlick sentenced Pruett, 62, to three consecutive true life prison sentences without the possibility of parole. The sentencing came after a 12-person jury convicted Pruett of first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, burglary and assault on Oct. 6, 2023.
Police found three people dead at a residence in Northeast Portland on July 17, 2020. Pruett killed Tashia Cobb and her fiancé Elmer Hughes outside and then killed their friend Lawrence Murphy inside the residence. Police arrested Pruett the following day.
"We are pleased that this sentence brings justice to the families of Mr. Hughes III, Ms. Cobb and Mr. Murphy. While their loved ones can never be brought back, the families can have some peace knowing that the person who took their lives will be behind bars for the rest of his life. Our hope is that the families can now move more meaningfully forward in the healing process," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
Senior deputy district attorneys Kevin Demer and Nathan Vasquez, and Keegan Matosich, a deputy district attorney, represented the state in the case.
Pruett lived in a house next to the home where Cobb, Hughes and Murphy lived, Vasquez told a Multnomah County jury in October 2023. He said Pruett had been taking care of Betty Boyles, who owned both of the houses.
When Boyles died that April, Pruett tried to take ownership of her property and demanded rent from the three neighbors, the prosecutor said. Despite an eviction lawsuit against him, Pruett continued to insist on rent payments. He shot Hughes, Cobb and Murphy after days without sleep during a methamphetamine binge, Vasquez told the jury.
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